You can use our householder pre-application service for general planning queries and advice on the early stages of a planning application
Before applying for planning permission make sure you:
- check if you need planning permission
- check local planning restrictions
- check the Common Projects page on the Planning Portal. The portal has information on typical homeowner building projects.
In you application please include:
- a location plan
- details of your proposal together with the fee.
Please note that only one option for each application can be submitted. Only the documents you submit with the form will be considered in providing the response.
We can provide different levels of advice depending on how much detail and support you want.
Charges for Householder Pre-Application Advice
We cannot give refunds on our pre-application service once we have validated your request.
All fees include 20% VAT.
Level 1: £232
- desktop assessment
- full planning history for the site
- consideration of relevant policies
- any site constraints
- officer opinion on proposal
- guideline for validation requirements
The response provided will be based only on what has been submitted. This level does not include a meeting, site visit or advice from internal specialists.
Note: This option cannot be used if your property is a Listed Building.
Level 2: £441
- desktop assessment
- full planning history for the site
- consideration of relevant policies
- any site constraints
- officer opinion on proposal
- guideline for validation requirements
- officer Site visit (at their discretion)
- consultation of relevant internal specialists
This level does not include a meeting. The response provided will be based only on what has been submitted.
Level 3: £536
- desktop assessment
- full planning history for the site
- consideration of relevant policies
- Any site constraints
- officer opinion on proposal
- guideline for validation requirements
- officer site visit (at their discretion)
- consultation of relevant internal specialists
- meeting with case officer (1hr maximum)
The response provided will be based only on what has been submitted.
The cost of the time we take to provide advice is not covered by the statutory fee for making a planning application. The charge covers our costs for providing the advice that is being asked for.
The amount charged is based on the size of the proposal and the level of detail that is sought. We currently offer free Level 1 advice for small charities and applications specifically required for the needs of disabled persons.
Pre-application timescales
After you have submitted and paid for your request for pre-application advice, we will aim to acknowledge that we have received your application and tell you which case officer has been allocated to your case, within 5 workings days.
We aim to provide a written response within 4 weeks of sending of your pre-application acknowledgement for Level 1 householder advice and within 6 weeks for other types of advice.
Disclosing information
Any advice provided is informal and provided in good faith, based on the information and evidence made available at the time. Such advice is the individual opinion of the Officer and is not a formal decision of the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning service.
The Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service does not publicise details of pre-application discussions until a planning application has been submitted.
The advice we provide under this service is generally confidential until a related application is submitted and development proposals are publicly available. From January 2023 we automatically publish any advice we have provided once the related application is submitted. At that point there is normally no reason under any legislation to insist the advice is confidential.
We may continue to receive requests for advice to be disclosed at earlier stages, which will need to be assessed individually under the legislation. If you think there are sufficient reasons under the legislation that your request and advice should remain confidential at those earlier stages please advise us in writing of the reasons at the time of your request. We will not respond at the time of your request but will take it into account when deciding whether to release information earlier than usual.